Father’s Column – February 18, 2018

I would like to begin this week by congratulating Fr. Mario Avilés who will be consecrated as a bishop this upcoming Thursday. Fr. Mario is the current Procurator General of the Confederation of the Oratory, and he was instrumental in overseeing the establishment of the Cincinnati Oratory. He recently told me that our establishment will be one of the things he will distinctly remember from his time as Procurator General. The photo above is Fr. Mario presenting the decree of the Holy See to the Community establishing the Cincinnati Oratory as an independent pontifical congregation from the Mass of Thanksgiving in April 2017. Fr. Mario was appointed the delegate to oversee our project back in 2008 and became the Procurator in 2012. He will be the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville, assisting Bishop Daniel Flores in overseeing over one million Catholics in south-east Texas. Fr. Adrian, Bro. Brent, Bro. Henry, and I will travel to Brownsville for Fr. Mario’s consecration. Please keep Fr. Mario, and us, in your prayers this upcoming week!

As I announced last week, Mrs. Jane Pitocco is the new parish secretary at Sacred Heart. Jane began this past week in the office, and so we now are operating under regular office hours. Please welcome Jane if you have not done so yet!

I again remind you to remember to donate or pledge to the Catholic Ministries Appeal. This appeal goes to support essential initiatives of the Archdiocese, like the seminary and our priest chaplains in our hospitals, jails, and on our campuses. In a particular way, this supports Fr. Adrian Hilton in his work at Christ Hospital. So please be generous to the Archbishop’s initiative. He has been very generous with us, so please be generous with him! I am personally asking you to participate. Please see the following pages of the bulletin for more information. Thank you in advance for your support!

We are now fully immersed in the Lenten Season. The Liturgical Year was designed as a way to not only teach us about the life of Christ but as a way to guide us in the spiritual life. We each need to remember the importance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We each need to examine our lives and attachments and seek to reorient our direction towards Heaven. As we do so, may we be truly honest with ourselves and make Lent a worthwhile activity to grow in the love of God and neighbor. There are many vices in the world, some of which have grasped our hearts. May we strive during Lent to grow in virtue. May we also take advantage of the opportunities to increase our prayer, through our daily prayers or by participation in daily Mass or Stations of Cross. We each need to remember that life is not always a feast and that penance and cross make up the vast majority of our lives. The time for eternal feasting will come, but only in Heaven. Until then, may we be willing to sacrifice whatever we must to have union with God in Heaven. Have a blessed week ahead!